Cocktails and Sushi
by Ni-chan1
Summary: Every Thurs. night Col.Karl Scubaltz goes to a Japanese restaurant where he meets a myst.woman.What happens when he finds out the woman he loves is one Prozen's high ranking officers?
1. Sakura no Ie

A/N: I do not own zoids, and the woman Karl has dinner with is my character. This might be updated a tad on the slow side since I'm currently still writing my other story Inoru-san but I'll make an effort to get the chapters out fast.  
  
Cocktails and Sushi  
Chapter One: Sakura no Ie  
  
It was eleven thirty pm or 23:30 to Colonel Karl Schubaltz. Today had been a particularly hard day for him as was any job that required important decision making and dealing with Prozen's imperial lackeys. He laughed to himself, it was about training time and he knew that more than half of them wouldn't make it to be soldiers, at least as far as he was concerned. Colonel Schubaltz dwelled on his thoughts for a few more minutes and before long he had reached what had become sort of his home away from home, it was the place that he retreated to every Thursday night at 11:30 pm to let off the stress of the job, Sakura no Ie.  
  
It was a classy high priced restaurant and Karl came out of uniform, dressed in black slacks and a white button down shirt, nothing too over the top. As he entered through the etched glass doors, the hostess standing at a tiny desk immediately recognized him (as he came here often) and showed him to the area where the best tables were. As he sat down and the waitress came with the menu, he already knew what he wanted since this had become somewhat of a ritual to him. He ordered a scotch on the rocks and no sooner had his drink come that he noticed a woman sitting at the table in front of him, drinking what looked to be a bloody Mary and eating a California roll with amazing skill (even though he came here often, he had yet to master the art of using of chopsticks). He watched her for awhile and then decided he would go over to join her, since his opportunities to meet women were well... let's just stick with the word limited.  
  
With his scotch in hand, Karl rose from his table and walked over to her, politely asking if he could join her. The women who had bangs blue hair and white highlights that reached the floor, gave him a simple yes in German. As he sat down he saw that she wore a short red dress with a low neckline and red stilettos with straps that laced up to her knees. She also wore a small silver choker with a charm that was in the shape of a strange symbol dangling from the center of it.  
  
The woman soon caught his eye line, which was currently at a straight angle towards her necklace, she smiled at him and began to explain "Where I come from it's how you write my name." Karl looked at her, he had suspected that had been it, but soon figured that maybe all the scotch he had been drinking on Thursday nights was finally getting to him. Still he wanted to find out as much information on this woman as possible, as he felt somewhat drawn to her. "And that would be?" The woman looked at him sensing his need for information, she decided to answer him according to her rules of always playing a little hard to get until she knew a guy. "I don't tell my name on first dates." She lowered her head and took a delicate sip of her bloody Mary. Karl smiled he knew exactly what she was trying to do and frankly he didn't mind that much, he always liked a good challenge, even when women were concerned.  
  
The mysterious woman looked up from her drink, her blue eyes meeting his green ones, Karl deciding to play her game. "Who said anything about a date?" She smiled since he caught on rather quickly she decided that tonight she was going to have a little fun. "You were attracted to me and we had drinks that constitutes as a date to me, but since you want to know so badly I'll tell you on our second date". Karl felt a pang of joy since he had been on his "first date" and was going on a second one. "I'll tell you mine as well." She stood up walking over to him and kissing him on the cheek and whispering in his ear "I trust that you have enough money to pay my tab." With that she left, leaving behind a half empty bloody Mary and her silver choker, which Karl gently held between his fingers.  
  
He paid the cost of their drinks and headed back to the imperial base, leaving the little city he had been in behind. Sometime later while he was lying on his back in his room he fiddled the necklace between his fingers, still tasting the scotch on his breath. Throughout his sleep he had wondered if he had dreamt the whole thing, but the slightly red tinted lipstick that he had cleaned off his cheek in the restroom of the restaurant, and the necklace he was holding were proof to anyone that the whole thing was indeed real. He finally decided to go to sleep, since tomorrow would be another day just like any other, and next week at this time he would be with the owner of the necklace he was holding whom he couldn't seem to get off his mind. 


	2. Le Collier d'Ai

Cocktails and Sushi  
Chapter Two: Le Collier d'Ai  
  
Thursday night came rather slowly, as do all things that one greatly anticipates, sort of like a watch pot doesn't boil. All things a side like every other day Colonel Karl Schubaltz had had a rough one. He quickly changed into a pair of black slacks and a dark blue shirt and headed out of the base to Sakura no Ie.  
  
As soon as he got past the small hostess desk that he had so familiarized himself with (that along with the taste of scotch and the scent of sushi and wasabi sauce) he quickly scanned the room checking for the woman he had met last night. As the hostess seated him at his usual table he waited for what seemed like hours, always keeping his eyes on the door, figuring she was the kind of woman who enjoyed making a point of being fashionably late. Finally she came through the doors dressed in a rather strange outfit (although we now recognize it as full kimono) and had black lace up sandals similar to the ones she had worn the previous Thursday night.  
  
As she made her way over to the table she could see Karl turning over her choker between his thumb and forefinger, and sat down quietly; Karl assuming he would be the one to make the first move again until she uttered one word, which he took it to mean was her name.  
  
"Ai"  
  
It sounded just about as foreign to him as the outfit she was wearing, but none the less he responded back as well, wondering why she only wanted to remain on a first name basis.  
  
"Karl S-"  
  
Before he could finish sounding out his last name, Ai, as she was now called, put a finger to his lips and then removed it placing it firmly on her lap before speaking again.  
  
"I'd still like to retain a certain amount of mystery, once you're on a first and last name basis things start to get stale. There's a certain amount of passion that exists between two people when things are kept secret. We have a different life here, one that doesn't take flight outside this restaurant. You agree?"  
  
Before he could answer the waitress came, Karl ordered his usual and Ai ordered a dry martini on the rocks and made a point that it be shaken and not stirred. When the waitress left Karl decided to find out what this woman was looking for without prodding too much and he figured she liked to sustain a certain air of mystery around her.  
  
"What are you looking for here, besides the alcohol?"  
  
Ai traced her fingers along the frame of the chopstick holders and brought her lips slightly upwards, into something that very closely resembled a smile before answering. Her Japanese accent that was laced with a German sound almost soothing him as she spoke.  
  
"I've always been interested in relationships just based on passion. I've had a few before, and I guess I was looking for another one. I like it when things are new, when everything is still uncertain, and everything is filled with romance and passion, even if the hints are subtle. Believe me finding this is hard but I know when I've got what I want."  
  
Karl slightly raised his left brow seemingly intrigued by the young woman before him. He'd never met anyone like her before and was wondering what this would lead to, although he did have somewhat of an idea. She was beautiful and all for relationships based on passion and love at first sight, Karl admitted to himself that he was a stiff who only found passion and love in his job, and could hardly believe he was attracted to someone who was interested in a love affair that had no strings attached. He guessed that maybe he was different here, away from his job, the stress, and the idiots who Prozen had the nerve to call officers. His whole perspective had dramatically changed since he met this woman. And he wondered that if she had found the kind of relationship she had been seeking so badly in him.  
  
"Do you have it now?"  
  
Their drinks had come a few seconds earlier and Ai took a sip of her martini, glancing over the glass at Karl before she preceded in responding to his question, that was obviously aimed at what she had said about knowing when she had what she wanted when it came to the sort of relationship she was in search of.  
  
"It would just eat away at you until next Thursday night when I see you again if I didn't answer that, wouldn't it?"  
  
Karl noted that what she said did have a ring of truth to it, or rather a large resounding echo (The kind that can only come from striking a rather oversized gong), since the last time he had met her fact that she did not reveal her name ate away at him for the whole week. Ai new the best way to keep men coming back for more was to always have them keep guessing. It was a technique she used whenever she felt the need, it was something her mother had taught her, and surprisingly it worked very well.  
  
"Keeps me guessing doesn't it?"  
  
He responded almost as if he had read her mind, but tonight it seemed that the two done very well when it came to guessing the others way of thinking, although as always, they did not go into great depths about their personalities and lives. Ai smiled, he had hit the nail right on the head, she also took it as her cue to leave, as her mysterious personality often required her to leave things up in midair. She stood up and walked over to him, whispering in his ear as she had done the previous Thursday night.  
  
"There will be less talking next time and as always I trust you have enough money to take care of my tab."  
  
She kissed him on the cheek again and walked out. Leaving behind a half empty martini glass, a small lipstick smudge, and the same choker he had been fiddling with for a week. 


End file.
